Low-Light Operation for D70s

[elliot_mainzer]

I just bought a D70s. In automatic mode under low light conditions, it occasionally has

trouble autofocusing and the shutter seizes. I am a rookie photographer and Nikon

Technical Assistance told me that it is common for digital SLR cameras to have this

problem, not just Nikons. They said that under such conditions it will be necessary for me

to use manual focus. Does this sound legitimate?

[robert_vanlane]

Yes it is common among most AF cameras

My solution is to use faster lenses or manual focus or wider lenses(they have a deeper DOF)

[markwilkins]

When you say the shutter seizes, what do you mean? Just that the shutter won't trip when you press the button, or something worse?

 

In very low light conditions, autofocus can be an issue. The higher-end bodies have better performance in low light, but your best bet is to use the fastest lens you can (preferably f/2 or faster) and if that's no good, focus manually. The latter can be difficult, though, because the focusing screen isn't really ideal for it.

 

-- Mark

[elliot_mainzer]

Yes, just that the shutter will not fire, nothing worse. I just wanted to make sure that this

limitation is not unique to Nikon. I bought this camera with the goal of growing into it and

gaining much greater understanding of photography and hoped I had chosen a good

camera, not one prone to quirks.

[mattalofs]

The shutter won't fire because the AF system hasn't achieved focus lock. It's been a while since I used a Nikon AF camera, but I seem to remember that not all focus modes do this. You might look in your manual.

[todd1664878707]

If you change your focus mode to either AF-C or Manual instead of AF-S, the shutter will trip everytime you press it without confirming focus. Yes, this is a legitimate issue. Faster lenses will help the problem if you want to continue to shoot in AF-S mode.

[welsford]

I suspect your D70s is like my D200. If you haven't changed the menu settings from when it came out of the box then your shutter will not release unless the DOT (look for it in the viewfinder) appears when you are in P (program) mode. This means your camera doesn't let you take a photo unless it is in focus. You can override this in your menu options. Read your manual.

 

As for the AF assist light. Sometimes it doesn't work very well in low light situations. It also buggers up if you are trying to focus on a very flat subject that has no lines such as a white wall in your house.

[aaron l]

You can either put your camera in AF-C mode and the shutter will fire no matter what or you can put it in manual, do you own focusing and it will shoot. There's nothing wrong with your camera. Take your camera out of auto mode, put it in A mode, open the shutter wide and find something the same distance as your target that is bright enough for the auto focus to lock on. Shoot away.